Tesla’s Powerwall smart home based energy storage device will go on sale in the United States later this year, and the company has suggested it will roll out the product internationally some time next year. Germany, for example, is seen as a key market for the product because it has among the highest take-up of solar energy in the world, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, said. Tesla’s impact on the energy storage market will be closely watched in Brussels, where the European Commission called for an overhaul of Europe’s ageing electricity grid networks. Unveiling its Energy Union plans in February, the Commission said future grids “will take into account cross-border flows, variable renewable production, demand response and storage possibilities”. Energy storage research projects are eligible for financing under the EU’s €80 billion Horizon 2020 research programme. Some are already being rolled out across Europe, with one in Ireland involving a motor-generated flywheel harnessing kinetic energy, catching […]